Who knew the basement of Hong Leong Building in the CBD had so many food options? The recently refurbished enclave — simply named The Basement — includes makan options like Teppei’s udon joint Fu Men and Korean ‘ugly’ pretzel store Monnani Kwabaeggi. And then there’s the three-month-old Tokidon. This small 36-seat self-service joint is the fast casual extension of the beef gyudon bowls they serve a hop and skip away at sibling Japanese restaurant Kabuke on Telok Ayer Street.

For a slight discount from the original (Kabuke's wagyu bowl usually goes for $28 a pop versus the $23.90 here), you get to taste their gyudons — if you're willing to huddle next to strangers at the long communal tables in this quick-service setting and have your grub in disposable paper bowls instead of proper ones. Tokidon claims that the serving sizes and ingredients are exactly the same in both locations, so if you're looking for a quick and yummy meal, zoom down here. Kabuke’s head chef Rio Neo, a Fat Cow and Kinki restaurant alum, oversees the cooking here, but is usually stationed at the main restaurant.

1/10

1/10

Five types of beef rice bowls on offer here

Hunks of beef sit in the glass-covered chiller next to the ordering counter. There's the marble score 6 (9 is the highest, most fat-speckled grade) Australian wagyu striploin that goes into the signature Truffle Wagyu Don ($23.90) and Wagyu Misozuke Don ($23.90) here, and the beautifully fat-mottled grade 9 short plate cut (a lardy cut found just below the ribs) that is used in the Wagyu Sukiyaki Don ($17.90). Those prices are pretty steep for the average weekday lunchtime budget, so you’re likely to save this for a more leisurely dinner instead. For everyday dining, there are more pocket-friendly options in the Gyu Don ($11.90), which uses Australian grass-fed striploin, or the Salmon Cha Soba ($16.90) if you're looking beyond beef.

2/10

2/10

Wagyu sliders for tea

After 3pm, a menu of afternoon snacks goes on offer, with passable brie-enriched wagyu sliders ($12.90) and a rich beef bolognese dip with toast ($9.90) to choose from.

3/10

3/10

The look

Like dining in an ’80s car racing video game (Daytona USA comes to mind), this eatery is awash in shades of purple, yellow and red. There’s a wall of LED-powered pixel artwork and you dine on roomy wooden high chairs. The team behind Tokidon is as cool as it looks. The interiors and branding is the work of local design outfit HJGHER and the soundtrack of smooth trip-hop piped through Sonos speakers put together by Singapore-based Aussie DJ, Riff Raff. A team of cooks work behind the counter to send out bowls in five minutes in the quieter hours, and you won't be waiting longer than 20 minutes for your meal between the noon to 1.30pm peak dining times.

4/10

4/10

Designer knick-knacks

When the gashapon (capsule toy vending machine) machine kicks into operation here, diners will get a chance to score discount vouchers, or Tokidon mementoes, like the pixel art bowl key chains of a rice bowl, sunny side up egg and beef slice by local creatives and toy designers Flabslab.

5/10

5/10

Wagyu Truffle Don, $23.90

Tokidon's bowls are a melange of colour and texture. The 80g of beef here is served medium-rare and in this bowl, the thickly sliced loin of meat is buttery and melt-in-the-mouth as you'd expect from pan-seared wagyu. The light hand used while applying the white truffle oil to it provides a nice perfume to the additions of garlic chips, furikake, spring onion and a house blended garlic shoyu. Tiny black flecks of shio kombu (salted kelp) are a sly touch in infusing each bite with a hit of satisfying umami. Ultimately though, what lets this premium option — and all the other rice-based bowls here — down is the slightly overcooked Japanese short grain koshihikari rice. A little sticker and chewier and this would've been a winner.

6/10

6/10

Gyu Don, $11.90 (8 DAYS PICK!)

A touch chewier than the wagyu, this unbranded meat bowl is nevertheless a still-tasty option if you’re on a tighter budget. Grass-fed Australian beef yields stronger flavours of cow. For an extra $11 (versus $11.90 for any of the other bowls), the menu suggests adding on a lobe of grilled foie gras on the side, so you don't miss out on getting a bit of unctuous mouthfeel in your meal.

7/10

7/10

Wagyu Sukiyaki Don, $17.90

If you prefer your beef on the milder side, go for the sukiyaki slices. The seasoning of mirin, shoyu and sugar that the fatty slices of beef are stewed in tones down the beef with sweeter notes, and you get bites of shiitake and enoki mushrooms to offset the flavour even more.

8/10

8/10

Salmon Cha Soba, $16.90

Unless you're a pescetarian accompanying a beef fiend friend here, you'll probably find no reason to return for this. We wish the overcooked noodles were a touch more al dente. The slightly dry, grilled teriyaki-slathered salmon though, tastes good, and you get a sprinkling of salmon ikura for the price, so that's some consolation for ordering this.

9/10

9/10

Sake, $5.90 to $11.90 for 180ml

There’s a range of affordable cup sakes here, and we think they're a great idea if you're looking for a sneaky sip at lunchtime, or an after-work unwind. There's the dry and full-bodied sake in a Kumamon cup by Kumamoto's Zuiyo brewery ($11.90), but if you're looking for something lighter, try the Izeko Peach Jelly Sparkling sake ($5.90) that is more jelly than drink. With 5 per cent alcoholic content, it's an alco-pop that won't do too much to redden your cheeks before you head back to the office.

10/10

10/10

Bottom line

The beef bowls here are quite tasty, except the meat is a bit leaner than we’d like. Also, we’re not sure if Tokidon’s offerings are fab enough to lure us amid the sea of cheaper grain bowl options in the CBD come lunchtime.